Stories
by LivingLifeAsAMusical
Summary: Oneshot. Galinda makes an effort to comfort Elphaba and finds something that strikes her. Inspired by Brandi Carlile’s The Story. Not a songfic though. There are only slight references to the song. Gelphie Warning.


Elphaba sat on her dingy dank bed, knees brought up to her chest and her chin resting on them. She starred straight ahead into the fire, lost in her thoughts. A noise sounded in the bathroom, reminding her that Galinda was in there. It had been so quiet that she had forgot. She fell back into her thoughts and this time they rested on Galinda. The girl had been driving her crazy lately and not in bad way…in a different way. She felt things for the small blonde that she couldn't pin nor could she fathom their meaning. She didn't know what to make of the relationship they had developed over the passing weeks. It had to mean something though, right? Actually taking the time to be her friend had to mean something, didn't it? To her great surprise, Galinda was no where near as stupid as Elphaba had taken her to be upon their first meeting. She was just a girl, like herself, struggling to find her place in the world. And, although she was the most popular girl at Shiz, it was times when they were alone in the dorm room that she saw through the veil of happiness Galinda wore. That is exactly what the girl did; she wore a mask…a veil to hide her real feelings. Elphaba reveled in the moments when Galinda's guard was down. These were the moments when Galinda surprised Elphaba the most with intellectual outbursts and a serious of facial expressions due to her turning revelations.

Galinda had started as a mere mistake in rooming as Elphaba was supposed to be with her sister, Nessa. Elphaba had been off to the side by herself as the rest of the students had cowered away from her. She had seen Galinda standing in the middle of them all and she was stunned by the girl's beauty. Her blonde curls were very tight and they fell all around her face. Her Shiz University uniform clung tightly to her peachy skin and she had a great figure. It was apparent by several outbursts that Galinda was at the top of the social pole. She envied the girl with all of her friends and detested her high squeaky voice that she heard over the crowd. She was too…perky for her taste. She wasn't very worried when she was assigned a room with Miss Galinda for she knew within a few days, she would be with Nessa once again. She hadn't even bothered to unpack her things whereas Galinda had already unpacked half of her wardrobe when she entered the room. She remembered starring at the immense amount of pink covering Galinda's side of the room and wincing at it. Secretly, she enjoyed the color pink but she would never let anyone know that so she stuck to her dark wardrobe. A few days later however, she was still stuck in the same room and it was this that she accepted the fact that there was going to be no change. The blonde was constantly primping, giggling, humming, or doing something upbeat. She did not even take notice of Elphaba, hardly speaking to her. Elphaba preferred it to be this way and she silently and in peace read her many books.

It was a miracle that they had even become friends to begin with and as much as she hated to admit it, they never would have if Galinda hadn't played that nasty prank on her. She still wore the hat around occasionally now, as she had taken a liking to it. It got her many looks but she figured a few more wouldn't hurt to add to her already overwhelming amount of stares due to her skin. Even amidst their growing friendship, Elphaba had sensed that there was something much more there. She didn't know what because she had never been loved to begin with in any sense. She had never dated anyone or experienced any of the feelings that were running through her when Galinda was around. She was quite aware that Galinda watched her as she read, even though the girl tried to hide it. Why did she have such a compelling need to look at her? She watched Galinda drink her tea and even work on her studies when the girl took the time to do it over the top of her book. Elphaba laughed out loud at the image of the girl with a pen but she kept it at a soft chuckle. She had learned that when Galinda's attentions to her work were waning, she would begin twirling the pen absentmindedly, sometimes spinning a piece of her blonde curl around it. Although her grades weren't specifically falling due to her constant thinking about the girl, she was losing an extreme amount of sleep due to all of this hullabaloo. She found it almost impossible to sleep with Galinda just across the room from her. She would often wait until the girl fell asleep so that she could roll over and watch the slow rise and fall of her chest. This new found feeling was the thing that had been causing Elphaba so much distress.

The subject of Galinda only lead her to other thoughts. The inside of her head raged on an ongoing battle. It was a constant struggle for her to keep up the fight that nothing anyone said could hurt her. Even though she had lived with it so long, it still pained her at times and today was just a bad day. She had been corned by Pfannee and Shenshen, along with several other students. They had called her names and asked her questions. She didn't dare cry in front of them and she still hadn't cried yet. She refused to do it even though her heart stung. She wanted to cry…to not have to worry about letting her guard down but she kept her heart pint up in her chest. Would anyone ever care enough to tear down the wall? She continued starring in the fire, her brow creased and a look of complete sadness over her features.

Galinda brushed her wet hair out in the bathroom, humming a small tune to herself. She found humming took her mind off of things. The strains of being popular, a not so good English grade, and the constant rambling of Phanphee and ShenShen had taken their toil on her. In addition to the things mentioned above, there was something…or perhaps it should be known as someone, perplexing Galinda's brain more than anything else. The image of the green girl popped into her mind and she smiled at the thought. She giggled at how funny it seemed that they had detested each other to begin with. They were still cautious around each other but they had built a friendship over the past few months at Shiz. 'A friendship,' Galinda thought to herself, 'is an acquaintance between two people who trust each other. A friendship does not however require you to have feelings for the other person in the friendship, especially when that other person is of the same sex….and is green." She cursed herself for letting her brain wander over these thoughts again.

The night after the Ozdust ball was when everything began changing. She had played a horrible joke on Elphaba and to make up for it, she danced with her the rest of the night. At first, out of pity and soon it grew into an inexplicable attraction and she found she could not part from the queer girl's side. And to her surprise, Elphaba had accepted her company and for the first time in their brief history together, she saw Elphaba's beautiful smile that made her feel faint every time it flashed at her. Fiyero had protested when she insisted on spending the rest of the night with Elphaba but she did not care. After retiring to the room, they had shared secrets and Galinda had given Elphaba a make over. She scrunched her nose at remembering this. Elphaba didn't need a makeover to make her beautiful; she already was the most beautiful woman she had ever laid her eyes on. The green skin added to her look of mystery and intrigue. That was the first night they had become friends and ever since, it had grown tremendously. There were many moments of awkward silence when their hands would brush by each other or they would get caught in a long gaze. Surely the girl didn't think of her in that way…after all, Elphaba was so intelligent and she was just…well, average. It had taken her a while to indentify her feelings as anything but it was there nonetheless and she was frustrated at having them to begin with and because she knew it would never happen.

She walked out of the bathroom, putting on her veil of happiness until her eyes rested upon her green roommate. She looked positively miserable as she sat on the bed, starring and thinking nonetheless. Galinda looked over her angular features, which were illuminated by the firelight, every angle accentuated with the light. She smiled a little at the beauty of the girl and then she frowned again when she saw the deep agony the girl was in. She knew Elphaba really did care about all the nasty insults that were thrown her way. She knew Elphaba wanted people to quit starring and just treat her normal. Galinda saw past her veil of detachment and into the heart of the broken girl. She kept a tear from sliding down her cheek as she thought of it. She walked a little closer so she could better see Elphie's face. The girl did not move, too lost in her thoughts to notice Galinda.

Galinda looked over the small lines etched over the girl's face. Lines of happiness, lines of pain, lines of loss, and lines of so much that had never been. Each one told a story…each one was a piece of the puzzle that made Elphaba. She was so lost in this new revelation that she did not notice the head turn her way, brown eyes boring into her.

"What are you starring at, Galinda?" she asked a little angrily.

Galinda shook her head, "Oh…I was just thinking about how sad you looked Elphie…what's wrong?" and Galinda stood there, shuffling her feet a little.

"Galinda, I am fine. Today is no different than yesterday or the day before. I hear the same remarks and they don't phase me anymore," and Elphaba smiled a little trying to hide the fact that she was lying.

Galinda looked into her eyes and they told her a different story, "Oh Elphie…will you ever trust me? I know you are lying and when I try to help, you never talk to me. You never tell me anything…" and she came to sit down beside Elphaba on the bed, her hips touching with Elphaba's. Galinda looked up into the green face and her previous thoughts about the lines entered her mind. Elphaba didn't have to tell her anything seeing as each line told Galinda a little bit more.

"You are starring again…"Elphaba said nervously.

Galinda looked away but turned back, wishing to help in some way and ease the pain she saw in those deep brown eyes, "Elphaba, you know how everyone has lines on their face?"

Elphaba looked puzzled, "How random can you get, Galinda but yes I know what you are talking about."

"Well, I like looking at the ones all over your face. You see," and she brought her hand up slowly and timidly to the green face, stoking her fingers across a few lines. Elphaba tensed but did not pull away, "these lines all over your face tell me the story of who you are. You may not say a word to me but they tell me the many stories of where you've been and how you got to where you are right now. But Elphaba, these stories remain yours and in all honestly, they don't mean anything unless you have someone to tell them to. I am trying to be that person but you won't let me," and she actually shed a tear that fell down over her peachy cheeks.

Elphaba leaned over without thinking and wiped the tear away, "Oh Galinda, please don't cry. I have been trying you know. It's just not easy for me."

Galinda dried up her tears for the sake of Elphaba burning herself but she knew she would cry over it all later. She smiled at Elphaba softly, trying to prove that she was alright. Elphaba saw right through the smile. "You know Galinda, you always wear that smile…around everyone. And that smile hides everything that is going on here," and she gestured at the girl's brain, "it hides the words you wish to say but you don't. All of your friends think you are blessed and they praise you because of your riches and status but really, on the inside, you are just one big mess…just like me," she muttered.

Galinda looked into Elphaba's eyes at this and she knew Elphaba was right. Her blue eyes mixed with deep brown orbs. "I would say we were made for each other if that's not to untoward."

Elphaba kept her mouth from falling open. Surely Galinda didn't mean it the way it sounded. She went to speak but Galinda spoke again, "I am a fool! I parade around with my false pretenses and pretend to be totally in love without a life that I hate. You are the only one out of all of them that sees directly through the makeup and curls. You read me like you read a book, no detail goes unnoticed. They don't know who I really am and they don't know what I go through like you do and…I think I was made for you. I love you Elphaba Thropp."

Elphaba's eyes had widened at the whole paragraph. The words she dreamed Galinda would say to her had actually been said and she had not the slightest clue how to respond. She starred dumbfounded and speechless. Tears began to pour down Galinda's face and she jumped off the bed, "Forget I ever said it, Elphie," she said, her voice cracking.

Elphaba quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her back on the bed, "No! I won't forget it because I…I feel the same way. I think I love you too."

Galinda starred back at Elphaba and saw that girl was being sincere and love actually shined in her eyes. "Oh Elphie…I-I," and she began stuttering helplessly for words that she knew would never come. They would never come because suddenly green lips pressed up against her trembling pink ones. They both sat rigid for a second before succumbing to feelings that had been building up. They pressed deeper into one another, savoring the taste and the feel of being so close to each other in an intimate way.

Hours later, when their breathing had slowed and they lay tangled up in the black bed, a bundle of arms and legs sprawled naked against each other, Galinda smiled against Elphaba's chest before leaning up and kissing her once again on the lips. She wrapped her arms around Elphaba's middle and snuggled closer for warmth. Elphaba pulled the covers up and kissed the blonde's forehead tenderly. After a few moments of silence, Elphaba spoke, "My sweet?"

Galinda was half asleep, "Yes, my Elphie?"

"I would say that we were made for each other if that's not too untoward," and Elphaba shut her eyes, letting sleep take over.

Before doing so though, small arms tightened around her and she felt a smile turn the corners of her loves mouth up against her bare midriff.


End file.
